You and I
by FreeTheDivergent
Summary: Tris and Four are just two ordinary people living their ordinary lives. Everything about them is normal, looks, personality, intelligence and they just assume their lives will be just as average. But when they meet everything changes. The distant past is reveals itself, the present cuts through them like a knife and the future becomes clearer than ever before. Modern Day AU.
1. Chapter 1

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

A groan emits from the girls lips as she reaches over reluctantly to whack her alarm clock. Her dull blue eyes open slightly and she takes in her surroundings. Even though she has been in her new flat for over a month it still shocks her when she wakes up every morning thinking she is in her old bedroom and she is waking up to the smell of waffles and bacon wafting through the door and the promise of a new, familiar day. It's not that this girl is depressed in her new life, she just doesn't like such a dramatic change. A wave of nostalgia washes over her as she remembers her old life. She misses everything about it. The safety, the certainty and the love that was always guaranteed.

This life is definitely different. It's hard, but Tris is always up for a challenge.

She swings her legs over the side of her bed and stretches her limbs. She scans her untidy room.

There are boxes scattered all over the wooden floor.

_It's a tidy mess, _she thinks to herself reassuringly. Even though there are countless boxes thrown across the floor they're all labeled neatly and placed in the correct places.

Tris strolls over to her pile of clothes and grabs a pair of jeans and her plain, old, gray school jumper.

She brings the soft, cotton fabric to her nose and breathes in the scent. It still has the smell of home. Fresh air mixed and lemons. It wasn't the most pleasant smell but it made her feel safe.

Tris glances at herself in the mirror. Usually her eyes would drift away, almost ashamed. But now Tris let herself stare. In her hometown, an isolated village called Abnegation, the villagers scowled upon vanity. It was a wholesome place. Everyone was always giving. They made sure each and every person was happy. You always had to think of others before yourself. But sometimes it got too much. Sometimes she felt she was lying. She felt she wasn't the perfect person she was brought up to be. Being perfect all the time, it wasn't her.

Tris studied herself. Her almost white blond hair falls limply to her shoulders. Her thin lips almost pressed in a frown, not that she was angry or unhappy it was just how her lips placed themselves, unfortunately. She scowled as she looked at her elongated nose that didn't compliment her small blue eyes. Then she looked wearily at her figure. Nothing astonishing there either. She was nearly flat chested and no curves in sight. She looked birdlike. Like a child.

Tris wasn't pretty. Tris wasn't striking. She was just an ordinary girl who was going to lead an ordinary life. Get her degree, earn a fair living, maybe find someone that suited her nicely and be part of her own family. It wouldn't be love, it would be convenient. She knew that her life wasn't going to be a memorable one, she was just your average girl.

She sighed and slipped into her dull clothes. She completed all her mundane tasks to make her look presentable enough and with another sigh she walked out the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, a boy, a man really, scowled as a trickle of sweat fell from his brow. His arms ached as he lifted the weight above him.

_Enough_, he decided. The boy placed the weight on it's stand and pushed his hair from his damp forehead.

"112 this time. I'm impressed." The beautiful girl from the reception speaks from behind him.

This girl, Rosie Parker, always observes this boy. Every morning he comes and she tries to sneak into his heart with her alluring smile and those glistening deep brown eyes. He is her new project. But he isn't fooled. He knows what happens when you get involved with girls like her.

She sweeps her lushious red hair behind her shoulder and smiles sweetly.

He smiles back politely.

"I got this for you," Rosie says seductively as she walks up and hands him a glass of water.

As he feels the cool water being pressed into his hand he realises just how thirsty he really is.

"Thanks," he says sincerely before gulping down the refreshing water.

Rosie is staring at him again and he begins to feel a bit uneasy.

She places her perfectly pedicured hand onto his firm forearm.

"All better?" she purrs.

"Erm… yeah," he mutters as he casually shrugs her hand off. "I better be going thanks for the water."

"Your welcome! See you tomorrow Four!" she calls after him as he pushes the door open into the changing rooms.

He glances at his wristwatch and swears under his breath.

He has fifteen minutes to get to his lecture.

Four begins to peel off his shirt and groans when he realises he's going to need a shower.

_I can't go to a public place smelling like this. _

He races to the showers and curses yet again.

This is going to be third time he's been late and his professor is disliking him more and more by the day.

He pulls on his jeans and his old, navy sweatshirt and runs out the door. Swinging his bag over his shoulder he waves at Rosie and rushes to his jeep. Maybe if he's lucky he might make the last half hour.

* * *

Tris yawns and puts her head in her hands as she listens to Professor Green drone on about percentages. She knows she's meant to be listening but his monotonous tone makes it very difficult. Instead she focuses on the flickering light above his head.

Business is her back-up plan. She never really liked it but her parents approve and Tris was brought up to please people even if it is _her_ life choices. She hates how friendly she was made to be, it doesn't suit her but old habits die hard.

Her attention is brought away from the light when she hears the slam of the door.

Walking in is the infamous Three, or Four. Shes not certain.

_What a peculiar name. Why would someone be called after a number? _

"Look who it is, ladies and gentleman." Professor Green states turning to face the boy. "Master Eaton. And why, may I ask, are you late for the _third_ time?"

He scratches the back of his head, staring at the floor.

"I got held up," he mumbles. "Won't happen again."

"Ah yes, that's what you said the time before and the time before that." He says staring at the boy before him who now has a stern expression on is chiseled features and is looking at him firmly, straight in the eye.

"It won't happen again," he says more slowly.

"Okay, well next time you're late I'm afraid you are going to have to find another business lecturer because you are constantly disrupting my class. Now take a seat." He says sternly.

Four mutters something under his breath and stomps over to the seats.

Tris watches him closely. He looks around for an empty space, each seat is filled with a person.

She glances at the seat beside her. Her bag and coat has taken it.

Tris groans inwardly as she make the decision to move her things. She doesn't want him to sit beside her. He seems intimidating with those deep blue eyes and unreliable behaviour.

Four's eyes lock on the seat then on Tris. He lets out a sigh of relief and approaches the chair.

As Four sits down Tris can see the redness on his cheeks. He dumps his bag at his feet.

"Thanks," he whispers.

She glances at him, seeing that he is looking at her, maybe waiting for a reply but Tris has decided not to talk to him. She doesn't like talking to boys like him.

* * *

Professor Green drones on and on and Four realises that he is beginning to be more conscious at the presence sitting beside him.

He begins to tap his foot impatiently. He doesn't understand why he's nervous.

He looks over at the girl's desk. There is a piece of paper and printed on the front is "Business Studies." And underneath. "Beatrice Prior."

_Beatrice. So that's her name. _

"Was I meant to get one of those?" he whispers towards the girl's direction, pointing to the paper.

She looks at him and nods. He finally gets to look at her properly.

She isn't pretty, but something about her makes Four want to look at her more. It's refreshing looking at her.

Suddenly her eyes flick over to him. He holds her gaze as she raises her eyebrow.

"Go on," she whispers.

Four cocks his head about to ask what she is talking about when he is snapped out of his trance.

"Eaton!" Professor Green calls.

His attention is pulled away from Beatrice to his professor who is looking as impatient as ever.

Four looks at him expectantly.

"Would you stop talking and come up here for the millionth time!" he shrieks, throwing his hands in the air.

Confused, Four jumps from his seat and goes down to his desk.

"You have to start listening," he spits as he shoves the paper Beatrice had into his hand.

Four stomps back up to his seat, slightly flushed.

_Today is not my day,_ he thinks to himself.

Four slumps down in his seat and lets out a long sigh as he looks at his sheet.

**Business Studies.**

**Tobias Eaton.**

He curses under his breath again.

_How many times to I have to tell them my name is Four, _he thinks as he grabs a pen and scribbles out Tobias and scrawls in his messy handwriting the name he prefers.

"I thought your name was Four." Tris whispers in a hoarse voice. She clears her throat and looks at him from the corner of her eye.

"It is," he replies, dismissing the question and pretending he is listening to the lecture. He finds he doesn't want to talk to this girl if she makes him feel uncomfortable.

"Why did it say Tobias then?" she persists, looking at him straight on.

Four feels taken a back for a second with her full attention on him.

"Maybe they got mixed up," he says, still trying to focus on what's going on with the lecture.

* * *

Tris tried to block Four out but she simply couldn't. She can see his figure in the corner of her eye and she can just make out his profile. He has unruly dark brown hair, deep blue eyes and a straight nose that suited his features perfectly. She hated to admit it but he was extremely handsome.

"Right ladies and gentleman," Green grunted, obviously fed up with the day already. "I have an assignment for you all. I want you to create a product and try to sell it to me. It sounds straight forward enough but let me assure you, it's not. Everything is explained in the leaflet. You will be partnered up with the person you are sitting next to, to save the hassle of me partnering you up and since I'm feeling generous there will be a prize, no idea what it is yet. Now scram, class is over."

Tris sits for a minute to let everything process and then she groans inwardly when it forms in her mind.

"Oh! I forgot. It's due in next month." Green calls over his shoulder as he prances out the door.

Tris refrains from putting her head in her hands and just lets out a loud sigh. She turns to face Four and smiles, but it was more like a grimace.

"I guess we're partnered up then," she says as she begins to pack up her stuff.

"I guess so," he replies.

_He's not very talkative, or very pleasant either. _

"I suppose we need some means of contact then," Tris says.

Four nods and Tris tries not to roll her eyes. She grabs a pen and tears a corner off a sheet of paper. She scribbles down her number and shoves it in his hand.

She is surprised to find that his hand is warm, she wants to keep her hand there and cherish the warmth but of course she yanks it away before he notices anything.

Four stands up quickly and stretches out his hand. The feeling of her small, delicate fingers on his calloused hand felt strange and he didn't know if he liked it or not.

Tris stands up as well and Four observes the height difference, she is nearly a head smaller than him and he can't help noticing how perfectly she would fit into his arms.

He shakes the thought out of his head and he could feel his cheeks heating up.

Tris takes her bag in her hand and flings I over her shoulder.

"I'm Tris," she says, forcing herself to smile.

"I thought it was Beatrice," Four says, immediately regretting it the moment it passed his lips.

"Yeah, it is," she says with a puzzled look. "But I prefer to be called Tris."

"That's… em… great." He says before wincing at his awful reply.

"Yeah," she says with a hint of laughter. "We can get a drink tomorrow and talk about how the hell we're going to get this done, bye Tobias." she says as she squeezes past him, avoiding awkwardly touching him.

"It's Four," he calls after her as she makes her way down the steps.

Tris doesn't reply and smiles to herself but quickly wipes it away before anyone could see.

Four watches her closely as she makes her way out the door. He watches the way her long blond hair swings back and forth and the way her slightly too big shoes slip off her feet and the way she walks, like a bird about to take flight.

He sighs and pushes his brown hair from his forehead.

He wasn't sure if this month was going to be the worst or the best month of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

Tris sat cross legged on her bed, musing over a particularily difficult question. She tapped her pen on her knee in rhythm to the music thumping out of the flat above her.

Upstairs was the flat from hell. Every minute the grating sound of heavy metal pounded in her ears. The man, she presumed, was always stomping about and dropping things things loudly on his floor.

Tris was dreading the day when she had no choice to go up there and confront him, that or go insane.

She looked out her window and looked down on the busy street. It fascinated her that all these people were nothing to her. Just strangers not worth remembering. But every single person that walks past Tris's window has a story to tell, has a life to live and they might not matter to her but might mean the world to someone else.

Her gaze lands on woman clutching a breifcase and checking her watch. She is probably in her late thirties. Tris looks closer and sees a bulge under her pinstripes. She places her hand over her belly absent-mindedly and hauls a taxi. Tris can almost see that strangers life, a normal one with a well paid job, a reasonable husband and an infant on the way. Tris falls on her bed and stares at her ceiling, wondering if in ten years time she will be like that woman.

Tris rolls on her side and glances at her phone for the hundreth time. She tells herself it doesn't matter if Four doesn't call but she's lying. Four has been on her mind constantly. She doesn't know what it is about him that draws her to him so much. Maybe it was his deep blue eyes full of mystery or the way he speaks, like syrup, thick, slow and sweet. Or the way she can see that this Four that she barely knows is only the surface and that there are layers and layers of him that she has yet to discover.

Tris jumps when she hears the sound of her phone ringing. Her heart starts thumping in her chest. She slowly reaches over for the phone and she looks down at the screen, expecting to see the unknown number of Four but instead sees "**Caleb"** written on the screen.

She scowls and feels her cheeks burning up.

_He's not going to call, he's not worth your time._

Tris brings the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she says, trying to rid the disappointment out of her voice.

"Hi! It's your favourite brother." He says with a hint of laughter.

She smiles fondly.

"You're my only brother Caleb," she replies with a grin as she swings her legs over the side of her bed. "Okay, what do you want?"

"Don't be rude," he says, acting shocked.

"Well, I should be suspicious. It's not like you call me on a regular basis."

"Is it wrong for me to want to know how my beloved sister is doing out in the big, bad world?"

There is a pause before Tris speaks up.

"Do you want money or something?"

Caleb laughs then puts on a more serious tone.

"Really Tris, are you doing okay?" he asks.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Tris says reassuringly.

"You're fine but are you happy?"

Tris pauses and thinks about it for a second. Is she happy? She can't be sure.

"I'm happy Caleb, don't waste your time worrying about me." She bites her lip. "How are you? And more importantly, how is Susan?"

Tris grins cheekily knowing how embarrassed he gets on the subject of Susan, the crush he had had for eternity and coincidently are going to the same college.

"Tris," he hisses resulting in her bursting out laughing. "Shut up."

"Okay, okay. Seriously, how are you?" she asks after she had calmed down a bit.

"Alright, it's strange being away from home. Everything's so different."

"I know." Tris agrees, twirling a strand of blond hair with her finger.

Tris had to be careful what she said. Caleb was very protective. Tris winces as she remembered the time when Caleb found out she had a boyfriend. He freaked and gave the poor guy "the talk." The relationship didn't last long and she couldn't help thinking that that was one of the reasons.

"Okay, listen, I've got to go but take care of yourself Tris." He says sincerely. "We'll keep in touch. Love you, bye."

"Bye." She says wistfully.

The phone beeps and Tris is cut off from her brother. She bites her lip, willing for it not to wobble. She can't deny that she feels homesick. Whenever something reminds her of home she feels a tug on her heartstrings and hearing her brothers comforting voice, it left her with a knot in her stomach and a lump in her throat that she can't seem to swallow. She lets out a shaky breath and ran her hands through her long hair.

Tris let a single tear roll down her cheek and she gets back to her impossible assignment.

* * *

Four whacked his head against his pillow.

"Just call her," he murmured. "Just call her."

Four had never had trouble like this before. He usually had brute confidence around everyone, but when it involved Tris it had disintegrated completely.

He sits up and leans his head against the wall, sighing dramatically.

"Hi this is Four. I was wondering when you wanted to get that drink." He says to himself. "Hi, it's Four. How are you? When do you want to get that drink you mentioned." He scoffed. "You're pathetic."

He twisted his head around and looked at his phone, then at the dreaded slip of paper with her number.

He put his hands in his head and let out a muffled groaned.

_Slam. _

Fours front door shut with a bang.

"Honey I'm home!" a sing song voice echoed through the apartment. "What's for dinner?"

The corners of Four's lips turned up in a grin.

"You tell me!" Four shouted through the door.

"You're feeling cheeky today, I see, you saucy minx!"

Uriah flung the door open to Four's bedroom and pulled a face before the two boys erupted in laughter.

Uriah perched himself on the corner of Four's bed.

"Seriously Four, I haven't eaten _anything _today." He said, throwing his hands up in the air.

Four looked at Uriah blankly.

"You had a full fry-up this morning and you took my piece of chocolate cake for lunch."

"That's what roommates are for," Uriah shrugged. "I'm ordering some pizza."

Uriah leaped of the bed and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Four said stopping Uriah. "I have a problem."

"Is your rash working up again, I told you to stop rubbing peanut butter on your privates." Uriah says with a toothy grin.

"I'm serious," He said, brushing Uriah's comment aside.

"Okay, shoot."

"There's this girl-" Four began reluctantly.

"Oh! I see, it's one of these ones, these are my favourite!" Uriah laughed, clapping his hands together like a disorientated penguin.

"Uriah," Four said sternly, regretting ever asking him. He stopped his clapping and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sorry," he said weakly, failing to hide his notorious smile.

"So there's this girl that I met today and we were partnered up for this business project…"

Four trailed off noticing Uriah nodding his head vigorously.

"Look, forget it. Go order your pizza." Four said, waving him off.

"No! No, I'm sorry. Start again. I'm listening." Uriah said sitting on his bed and looking at him sincerely.

Four glared and realised how stupid his story would sound to him.

Uriah was a womanizer. No doubt. Woman after woman, he wouldn't understand his problem.

_Who else can you talk to?_

"Okay, so I met this girl in business and we were partnered up for this project for the month and… and she's like no one I've ever met before."

"Apart from me," Uriah added.

Four ignored him.

"I don't know what it is but I just acted like a complete and utter idiot when I met her. Anyway, she gave me her number and I have to call her." Four dropped his gaze to his phone again.

Uriah looked at him expectantly, waiting for more.

"I don't know what to say to her." Four mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"How about: Hi, it's Four. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up and get a drink?" Uriah said, looking at him with astonishment. "It's not rocket science."

"I know but-" he started.

"Listen, pick up the phone." Uriah instructed firmly. Four obeyed. "Dial the number." He entered the digits he almost memorized. "And this is what you're going to say… you know what? I'm gonna write it down."

Uriah reached over and grabbed a pen and paper.

"This is so stupid." Four sighed.

"I'm doing this because otherwise you would mess up, you were not gifted with socialising skills." He mutters.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Four exclaims. His nerves rising rapidly.

Uriah didn't answer. "Okay, done!"

He handed over the piece of paper.

_This isn't a good idea. This isn't a good idea. _

"Now press call." He said simply.

"I need to practise, I'm not prepar-"

Uriah snatched the phone out of Four's hands, pressed the call button and threw the phone at Four.

"What the hell!" he shouted in annoyance.

"It's ringing." Uriah said calmly.

Scowling, Four pressed the phone to his ear and gulped.

"Hello?" Tris's sweet voice rung out through the speaker.

Four was stunned and he grappled for the paper. He had to squint his eyes to read Uriah's scribble.

"Um… Hi, this is Four." He paused for a second and looked at Uriah who gave him a thumbs up and gestured him to keep on going.

"I was wondering when you wanted to get that drink?" he asked, before adding quickly, "for the project."

"Oh, well I'm free tomorrow." She said.

His heart pounded and he grinned.

"How about the Starbucks opposite campus?" she said, her voice quickening.

"Yeah, are you free at… say four o'clock?"

"In the evening? Never mind…forget I said that." She babbled.

Four smiled wider and laughed warmly.

"Okay, see you tomorrow." He concluded.

"Bye, Four."

"Bye."

There was a moment where they both just waited, hanging on to phone like their life depended on it before they snapped out of their trance and hung up.

Almost embarrassed they both shook off the euphoric feeling, because it was stupid to feel that way over a ten second phone call.

But they had no idea what was in for them, this was just the beginning.

* * *

**a/n Thanks for reading, let me know what you think :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n I'm telling you guys this so you don't get confused or something, but I've changed the plot of the story so I've changed the description. The previous chapters are all the same but now it's going to be open more chapters (and more fluff might I add.) **

**This chapter is a bit longer than usual, btw. **

**Please review, favourite and what not. **

* * *

Four stared in front of him as the hot water poured over his body, steam billowed up around him and the suds of his shampoo fell to the bottom of the shower floor.

He looked at the clock on the wall, the steam was beginning to fog it up making it difficult for Four to make out the time.

He squinted his eyes and could see that it read 3:25 . He had just about half an hour until he was going to meet up with Tris.

His stomach fluttered and his heart did a little spasm. He couldn't decide if he was excited or scared out of his wits.

Four switched off the shower and slid the door open, wrapping his soft, blue towel around his waist.

He glanced at himself in the fogged up mirror, only able to see his blurry outline. The straight curve of his jaw, his brown mop of wet hair sticking to the side of his face, his broad shoulders and if he looked closely he could see the dark orbs of his enticing blue eyes.

Feeling vain, Four turned from his reflection and walked out of the bathroom.

He padded through the hall and was about to open the door to his bedroom when Uriah bounded in.

"Four!" he exclaimed with a ridiculous grin stretched across his face. His brown eyes were gleaming and he was gasping for breath, obviously from running up the immense staircase leading up to the apartment.

Four was surprised he didn't crack a joke about his half naked state but Uriah was completely distracted by the story he was about to tell.

"I have news!" he hollered. "Do you know the-"

"Eh… Uriah?" Four interrupted. "Can this wait, I kinda just got out of the shower."

Uriah scanned Four, as if he just realised he was just in a towel.

"I could wait I suppose," he said.

Four turned to enter his bedroom when Uriah yanked his arm back.

"But I'm not." He stated firmly.

Four rolled his eyes as he dragged him into the sitting room.

It wasn't much of a sitting room, no comfortable couch, fireplace and tasteful paintings it was more like a main room, there was a dart board, one comfortable chair, (which the two boys fought over constantly) three uncomfortable wooden chairs that hurt your back, an old T.V, one disgusting painting Uriah blew a good sum of money on and a table meant for eating but hadn't been used in about a month.

Uriah leaped onto the comfy, leather chair and Four stood with a scowl on his face.

"What," He snapped, holding his towel in place.

Uriah leaned forward and smiled stupidly.

"Okay, you know that girl I was telling you about the other day?"

Four sighed deeply.

"There's a lot of girls, Uriah." He said impatiently, giving him an annoyed look.

"Yeah, well this was the one I met at that club last week." Uriah looked at him with wide eyes and lips parted, waiting for him to catch on.

Four racked his brains, trying to think of the many girls Uriah babbles on about.

One memory stuck out.

"_Who was the girl this time?" Four said as he watched the television. _

"_Shut up," Uriah snapped as he slammed the front door shut._

"_What got your panties in a twist, eh?" Four mumbled still engrossed in his program. _

_Uriah just grunted. _

"_Bad night for the penultimate man whore?" Four chuckled. _

_Usually jokes would get Uriah out of a bad mood but he sat at the table staring into nothingness. _

_Four switched off the T.V and walked up to Uriah clicking his fingers in front of his face, snapping him out of his trance. _

_He looked at him with a dull expression. _

"_What happened?" Four said slowly as if approaching a vicious animal. He knew that if Uriah was in a bad mood he was deadly and could snap at any moment. _

"_This girl." He muttered. _

_Four urged him on. _

"_Okay," he sighed, sitting up out of his slouch. "So I saw this girl aross the dancefloor and she was hot, I mean like super mega hot, so I went over to her and we talked and we really hit it off. She was so nice and funny and she had this cheeky side to her and oh my god, she was just perfect. Then I asked her for her number and she told me she had a boyfriend." _

_He let out an exasperated groan. _

"_There's other fish in the sea, man." Four said reassuringly, clapping him on the back._

"_Yeah, but this one was like the queen of all fish. She was like the fish all fish aspired to be, you get me?" he said desperately. _

"_Just get some sleep."_

Usually every girl Uriah moaned about, Four would forget but he had never talked about a girl like this one.

"The one with the boyfriend?" Four asked.

"Yes!" Uriah beamed.

"Okay, make this quick." Four grumbled, perching himself on the edge of the wooden

chair.

"So, I was going to the grocery store, as you know-" he began.

"Wait, where are the groceries?" Four inquired.

"I didn't have time," Uriah said, dismissing Four question. "Anyway, so I was walking down the street and I glance into one of the shop windows and I see a girl. I knew it was her the second I laid eyes on her. So without further a do, I go into the shop and she was just standing there and she looked so beautiful and so amazingly hot so I go up to her and we start talking again. When she had to go I didn't ask for her number because I thought she still had a boyfriend but _she _gave it to _me_. She was like 'I think we should keep in touch, I like you.'"

He leaned back in the chair smiled..

"I think she's the one." He said dreamily.

"Do you even know her last name?" Four scoffed.

Uriah glared at him, "I do, as a matter of fact. Marlene Jackson."

"Speaking of girls, when do you have your little date?" Uriah teased.

Four's eyes widened as he looked at the clock.

He had fifteen minutes.

Four leaped out of his chair and rushed to his room.

"This is your fault!" he called over his shoulder to Uriah.

* * *

Tris checked herself one last time in the mirror. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and took a deep breath before walking out of her door.

She locked the door securely and raced out of the building.

She checked her watch and realised she was going to be about five minutes late. Tris shrugged her shoulders.

_There's nothing wrong with being fashionably late._

A cool breeze ruffled the autumn leaves on the trees that lined the pavement. A shower of orange, red, yellow and brown cascaded from the branches.

It was beautiful.

Tris mused over the short lives of these mundane leaves. They grow, flourish then fall, then a new bud takes it place. It's so simple, this perfect cycle. Nobody would mourn over those beautiful leaves and of course the leaves didn't strife to be remembered. The just hung there, making life a little brighter. The word 'life' could not apply to a leaf maybe more like a dance. With each season the wind might mingle with this precious leaf, and they might dance all year until the day when the leaf could dance no more, the wind might pluck it from the dance floor and let it spiral down as the grand finale. The wind might kiss it goodbye and say farewell to all the dances and merry songs they made and place it on the ground and wait for the next dance of the seasons with the seed they left behind.

Tris turned the corner, and then let her mind wander to where it's forbidden.

Four.

All night he had plagued her thoughts, spreading to every corner of her mind. She didn't like what kind of effect he had on her. She found it ridiculous. She met him once. She told herself countless times that she didn't care for him. She barely knew his name, but it was futile. As much as she despised the notion, she liked him, and she didn't know how far that varied, how much her feelings could grow but this much is enough. She definitely didn't want it to go any further.

The Starbucks came into her view and her pace quickened. She checked her watch. She was just about on time, maybe three or four minutes late.

Her nerves began to grow as she flung the door open of the coffee shop. She quickly scanned the shop, seeing that he wasn't there yet. She tried not to feel disappointed, he did after all have a habit of being late.

Tris sat at a free table and waited patiently.

Her phone vibrated in her jeans pocket. Hoping, through all hope it was Four. She didn't try to deny it.

Slipping her hand in her pocket and grabbing the phone, she saw that once again it was Caleb.

She sighed and opened the message.

**Hi Tris, we need to talk. It's urgent. When are you free?**

**-Caleb**

Her eyebrows furrowed and she re-read the message.

She needed to hear what ever happened now. Four regrettably wouldn't be coming any time soon.

She scrolled down her contacts and pressed the call button on Caleb's name.

The phone rang out and almost immediately Caleb picked up.

"Tris?" he said. There was sheer desperation in his once calm, comforting voice.

"Are you okay?" she said her voice lowering.

"No, Tris… I really don't know how to say this." He said, she heard him sigh through the phone.

"What is it!" she exclaimed.

"Okay, I'm just going to blurt it out." He paused and sniffed a bit.

_Was he crying? _Tris thought.

Fear started to rise up through Tris. Her breath caught and her heart was hammering loudly in her chest.

There was a pause, the silence was hanging in the air.

"Tris, Mother and Father are getting a divorce." His voice cracked.

Tris threw her hand over her mouth and tried to resist the sob that was rising in her throat.

"There's more," he said, pain striking through his voice. "Mother found that Father had been gambling. There's no money."

It was like something had hit her. A force so strong that there was no room for anything else to be felt, this force had shut down every sense and had just left the unsteady beat of her heart. Her heart that was beginning to split in half. All the trust and love she had kept for her parents was slowly fading. This couldn't be true.

"Tell me your kidding, please say this is just a sick joke." Tris said, her voice wobbling and growing weaker.

"I'm so sorry, Tris."

Tris couldn't speak. Her throat was aching, a sob was waiting to be released and she felt some sort of sorrow that dug into her to her core.

"I have to go," she croaked.

Tris hung up the phone and brought it into her chest and closed her eyes, feeling the tears welling up and her throat closing in.

"Tris?"

She looked up to see Four staring down at her.

"Oh my god!" he breathed. "What happened?"

He stood over her and she felt small, so unimportant.

"I…I…" she stuttered.

Four looked so confused and she felt the need to tell him what happened but she simply couldn't speak.

"I can leave if you want," he said quietly.

Tris shook her head, her hair falling over her face.

"Okay, come on, let's go." He said, approaching her with and outstretched arm.

Tris took his hand and he lifted her off the seat. They were now standing incredibly close and she could feel his warm breath tickling her as he spoke.

"You don't have to tell me what happened," he whispered as if this was their own world and nobody was allowed to hear them. "I'll just take you back to your flat, you need some sleep."

He smiled so sweetly that her heart jumped and for a second she forgot what had just happened, but only for a second.

That's when she burst into tears.


	4. Chapter 4

Four froze as tears began fall rapidly down Tris's cheeks. She sniffled and hid her face in her hands.

He didn't know what to do and he just stood there for a moment before throwing his arm around her shoulder.

_What the hell did you just do? _Four fretted as his arm lay awkwardly on her shoulder.

But Tris seemed oblivious as she shook with tears.

Four tightened his arm around her and guarded her from the wandering eyes and he walked her out of the café.

He couldn't help noticing how perfect she folded into his arms but he pushed the thought aside when Tris uncovered her face and looked up at him with wide eyes, they were such a clear blue that Four thought that if he looked close enough he could stare straight through her soul.

Her eyebrows raised and her mouth formed an "O" shape.

"I'm so sorry," she whimpered. Her voice shook and she spoke so quietly he could barely hear her sweet little voice. She wiped the tears from her eyes but they kept on coming.

"Don't worry," he said almost as quietly as her.

He had a strong urge to wipe away the tear that was rolling down her cheek but he stopped himself. There was a long pause as Tris stared into his eyes and he suddenly became very aware of his arm around her shoulder. He shrugged his arm off.

Tris stared at the ground.

"I can leave you here, if you want." He said after a bit, beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable because all he wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms.

She looked up him with such vunerability that he didn't need an answer.

"Okay, come on." He breathed. He questioned putting his arm around her again but knew it was inappropriate.

Tris took a shaky breath.

"It's… up here." She said pointing straight ahead.

He nodded, glancing at her through the corner of his eye. He wanted to ask her what happened but he would probably be tredding on thin ice.

"I'm so sorry, Four, really I am." She muttered, her voice still shaking violently.

"You've nothing to be sorry for," he said calmly and steadily. He had a feeling that she needed something steady right now.

"I can explain I just-" she broke of as another stream of tears broke from her eyes. She stopped walking. This time she didn't cover her face and Four watched as her lip wobbled, her face crumpled and the tears spilled over her bright blue eyes.

Four felt a pang in his chest and he couldn't stop himself gathering her in his strong arms.

The second he wrapped his arms around her small figure, he regretted it.

_You are so stupid Four. What the hell is wrong with you. _

But his nerves melted as she mirrored him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leant her head against his chest.

A smile stretched across his lips.

She felt so fragile, like if he held her too tight she would snap. Her thin arms gripped him tight but he could barely feel a thing. He could feel her shake as a soft cry emitted her lips.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled into his chest again.

Four felt a strong urge to protect Tris at this moment, to make her feel better so he lifted his hand up and placed it on her head. Her blonde hair tickled his fingertips and he stroked her hair gently.

"Don't apologise," he whispered into her hair.

He suddenly felt he had gone too far and was about to let go of her when she grabbed tighter and snuggled her head into his wooly jumper, deepening the embrace.

If she wasn't sobbing so intensely Four would've felt on top of the world but with every tear that fell down her cheeks he felt like his heart would break in half.

They held each other for a long time but it felt like only a brief moment when Tris slowly let go of Four and stepped back so she could look at him for a second. For just a second Four saw a ghost of a smile flicker over her lips and her eyes brighten but then everything darken and she drooped like a dead flower but despite everything she walked on and Four followed.

* * *

Tris twisted the key in the key hole and unlocked the door, swinging it open and walking in.

The initial shock of the news had worn off and now she just felt a deep hatred for her father burning up inside of her. She felt like a volcano about to erupt and all she wanted to do was thump him.

Four followed Tris into her flat and awkwardly stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Tris couldn't help feeling this was too forward inviting him in but there was no point denying that Four had made her feel better with their intimate moment in the middle of the street. And he deserved an explanation of why she burst into tears in public.

Tris sighed deeply and ran her hands through her hair.

"I'm so-" Tris began.

"Don't say sorry," Four interrupted with a heart melting grin.

She felt the sides of her mouth turn up slightly before she slumped down on her bed.

She looked up to see Four leaning against the wall looking uncomfortable. She couldn't tell if he looked like he wanted to go or not but Tris felt selfish today, and she had every right to be.

"You can sit here if you want," Tris suggested patting the place beside her on the bed.

Four eyes widened slightly before coming up to her and sitting beside her. Tris could hear him shuffle his feet about on the floor nervously. She didn't understand how he could feel nervous with her, it's not like he could fancy her in any way. She looked like a twelve year old.

"You must be kind of confused," she said turning to face him. He did the same and his expression turned softer making Tris stomach do crazy filps and turns. She was surprised how calm she was in his presence, if she was on a bed with a boy she would have probably found an excuse to leave by now but it wasn't like that with him. She felt safe.

"A little bit," Four replied.

"Basically, my brother rang me before you came and said-" Tris gulped feeling her throat grow raw and tears begin to well up in her eyes.

Four placed his hand over hers and Tris stared at it. She hoped she wasn't going red.

"You don't have to tell me if it's too hard," Four said sympathetically. Then he looked at their entwined hands and took his hand back like Tris's touch burned.

"No, you deserve to know." Tris said willing the tears not to overflow again. When Tris thought about it, he didn't really _need _to know, he probably didn't even want to know either but she wanted to tell him, maybe even needed to vent to someone she felt comfortable saying it to.

She thought it mad that she trusted Four over a twenty-four hour period.

"So, my brother called me and told me that… that my parents are getting a divorce because my dad had been gambling all of our money." Tris almost spat it out, fury boiling up inside of her. "I just don't understand! I lived with that man for eighteen years and I trusted him, I believed in him, I loved him." Tris had raised her voice now and had curled her fingers into a fist. "What gave him the right to take what we had earned and throw it all away and not to utter a word to any of us, his family! How could he do that? How could he bear it?" She was now shouting and her voice became hoarse.

Four didn't speak for a second, he looked like he was thinking carefully what to say. He held this distant look, he was looking at Tris but it was like he was looking straight through her. Then he came back.

"I know exactly how you feel," he said softly. "I've had… problems with my father as well." A pained expression flashed across his features and his eyes darkened. "I know it seems hard, and I know what it's like when you have family trouble like this but there is always a way out. Trust me."

Tris stared blankly at Four. She believed what he had said. If it came from anyone else she would've pushed it aside but for some reason she trusted that Four was speaking the truth.

"Thanks," she breathed. "No seriously, thank you Four. It means a lot." She forced herself to smile but it looked more like a grimace.

He returned the smile. A genuine smile that made Tris's heart leap. His smile was so pleasing, a treat to the eyes and she didn't want to tear her gaze away from his face. She hated to admit it, but he was beautiful. Not in an obvious way. He didn't look like those models you see in magazines but like a person. He looked real.

There was silence. Not awkward in the least.

"So," Four spoke, breaking the peaceful moment. "Are we ever going to get this project done?"

* * *

Tris glanced at her watch and her eyes widened.

It was 2:35 am.

"Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed. "It's half past two!"

Four furrowed his eyebrows and took Tris's wrist, looking at the watch in disbelief.

A pleasant warmth rushed from the placed Four held her arm.

"I should probably get going then," he said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah, probably." Tris shrugged.

Four frowned.

"It can't be 2am." He shook his head. "We couldn't have talked for that long… since 5 o'clock that's like four hours!"

Tris put her head in her hands.

"Four hours?" she muttered. "You can't be serious, and your majoring in buisness?"

Four rolled his eyes and nudged her playfully.

"It's 2am, my brain isn't functioning." He chuckled.

"That was like eight year old maths," Tris laughed. "I'll leave it."

Tris yawned and Four took that as his cue.

"I'll let you sleep," Four said beginning to stand up from the bed. "I'll see you then."

He turned the knob of the door and was about to leave when Tris leaped up from her comfortable position.

"Wait," Four turned. "I just wanted to say thank you, I mean you cheered me up more than anybody could have. I really needed that."

During her sentence Tris realised she had stepped forward so she was closer to Four, so much closer.

Before she realised what she was doing she reached up and pressed her lips to his cheek, feeling the bristles of his unshaved jaw.

She gasped quietly and jumped back.

_What the actual fuck did you just do? _

Fours deep blue eyes were widened and they were sparkling bright.

"Okay then, I'll see you soon." Tris sputtered.

Four nodded, looking speechless and turned to walk out the door and just as he was about to shut it behind him he turned to face Tris.

"This was fun, we should do this again. Bye Tris." He said.

He smiled and something ignited in Tris's heart. An undying fire that burned bright and shined through the darkness. A light that could guide her home.

Four shut the door behind him and Tris just stared in front of her trying to decipher this feeling that was consuming her, engulfing her. A feeling that she would never shake off.


	5. Chapter 5

Tris lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She hadn't moved in about three hours and she didn't intend to. Her mind was buzzing and she felt dizzy. She had tried to sleep but it was futile. She considered calling Caleb but she didn't have the strength to lift up her phone.

She had burst into tears multiple times and she had also lay there with a stupid grin splayed across her face.

There was a sick feeling in her stomach every time she thought about her father. Her throat would tighten and her heart would clench.

Confusion suffocated her. She didn't understand how her sweet father could do this.

Nearly all her memories of him were special. Every time she felt upet or angry he would just place her on his lap and talk her through what happened. He always made her feel better.

But Tris didn't want to think of her father with fondness. Raw hatred was all she felt for him at this moment, so she remembered all his faults, everything that made her hate him even more.

The times he would shout at her mother when he had a tough day at work. He would be so terribly cruel that sometimes mother would just lock herself in the bathroom. She told them that she was okay but Tris always heard her soft sobs through the bathroom door.

When he was angry at her or Caleb there was a certain look that he would obtain. His eyebrows would crease and his eyes would darken and only at those moments she would feel afraid.

And the times he would leave on short notice, just leave a note and be back three weeks later. No call, no goodbye, he would just be gone. Tris always made herself think it was just work, but now she wasn't so sure.

Tris sat up straight and her eyes widened.

Memories flooded back to her and the thick fog of confusion began to slowly fade.

Tris remembered the letters that would come addressed to her father. They had a special stamp on them.

It was an eye encased in a circle. The eye always looked sinister.

Tris had only laid her eyes on these letters once or twice before her father would snatch them up and she would never see them again.

Tris heart began to thump loudly, she hugged herself around her waist and forbid the tears to come as she remembered. Remembered what she had let fall deep, deep down in her memories. Thought it worthless to remember.

She remembered following her father into his study and watching him through the crack of the door as he opened the strange letter. She remembered him opening the envelope with care and her stifling a gasp as papers flew out from the opening. Her father had swore and began to pick up the papers. One had flew right to the door and had landed right by the thin crack left open. On the letter it had wrote:

**Mr. Prior, **

**We are glad to inform you that you have been granted head of your quarter. You shall be presented with a plaque and certificate of honour. This position is very important, as you know, and full responsibility will be expected. **

**We shall met at headquarters. Further details are enclosed in the package. **

**Sincerely, **

**M&J**

"Oh my God," Tris breathed. She looked around her room and suddenly felt trapped. Like the walls were closing in. Like there was no escape.

Then she heard footsteps.

* * *

Four placed his hand over the place where Tris had kissed him. _Kissed _him. Four still couldn't believe it. He had pinched himself multiple times just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He had replayed the moment in his head again and again.

He had watched the way her lips moved as she spoke and didn't notice when she had took a step closer. But when he did his breath had catched. Her eyelids had fluttered shut before she leant in and pressed her lips against his jaw. It felt like a butterfly's wing brushing past him and it had left a growing warmth spreading from the place where it had left his touch, but of course it wasn't a butterfly. It was Tris and it had meant so much more.

Four was certain of his feelings now and he made no point in trying to deny it. He liked her. A lot.

There was something about her that made Four want to be in her presence. Even if it was just to stare at her. Watch her as she did every mundane thing. Everything she did was fascinating for Four. Even just a blink of her eye.

He jumped as he heard his phone vibrate from the bottom of his bed.

_Who could be calling at this hour in the night? _He thought as he crawled to the bottom of his bed and grabbed the phone.

His eyes widened and he gulped.

It was Tris.

"Hello?" he said with concern.

There was silence.

"Tris?"

No answer.

"Tris? Are you okay?" he said again, throwing his legs over the side of his bed and clutching the phone tighter to his ear.

"Four," she whispered. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," he said slowly, beginning to feel nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Don't be alarmed but…" he heard her gulp. "There's someone in my apartment. I don't know who it is. I've locked myself in the bathroom and…"

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, throwing himself off the bed. "Listen, I'm coming over. Don't move."

"Please hurry," she said. Her voice had completely broken and it had turned into a hoarse squeak.

"Everything will be okay, Tris. I'll be there in five minutes." He said.

"Okay," she whispered.

Four hung up the phone and pulled on a shirt. He didn't bother putting on proper trousers before he ran out the door.

He sprinted down the large staircase and flung open the huge doors leading out to the street.

A strong gust of cold air nearly blew him off his feet. Goosebumps rose on his bare arms but he gritted his teeth and rushed down the street.

Four's let out out a shaky breath. He feared that something might have happened to Tris and he would be too late. A man in her apartment could to anything to a girl like Tris. She's small and not very strong. She could easily be taken advantage of.

Four shook the thought out of his head and ran faster. He could see the entrance to her building and a sense of relief washed over him. But he wasn't nearly satisfied. He wouldn't be able to think straight without seeing Tris safe.

He bounded up the stairs to her building, panting hard.

He was in front of her door now and he froze as he saw it was left ajar, the locks hanging off their hinge.

His heart was pounding as he stepped into the apartment. He took a cautious step forward.

Four heard a someone's footstep landing quietly on the wooden floor. His head snapped around and that's when he felt it. A hard thump on his back. Blinding pain shot through him an he fell to the floor, writhing around in agony.

He looked up to see a figure with a gray sweatshirt and baggy tracksuit. He couldn't see it's face but he knew it was a man.

Four leaped up, multiplying the pain and threw is fist into the persons stomach. It leaped back in surprise but it wasn't long before it jumped at Four, slamming him against the wall making him cry out in pain. He shut his eyes, grimacing as he struggled against the strong man grip. The man punched him painfully at the side of his mouth and he felt hot, salty blood trickle down his jaw.

Suddenly he heard a bang and the man fell limp against him.

Four slowly opened his eyes and he saw Tris standing wide eyed with a chair in her hands. He looked down and saw the man lying on the ground unconscious. His hood had fallen from his face and they saw a large tattoo imprinted on his forehead.

It was an eye.

Tris gasped and threw her hand over her mouth.

Four looked up just before she fell on the ground unconscious too.

"Jesus Christ!" Four exclaimed as he rushed to her side. He knelt down and his face grew pale as he saw something glow on her arm underneath her t-shirt.

He gulped and rolled up her sleeve.

"Oh god, please no, no, no." he whispered covering his face with his hands.

He had seen what he hoped he'd never see again. The mark. The mark of the Erudite imprinted on the left arm.

The exact replica of his.


	6. Chapter 6

_Tris was running, running so fast that her breath burned in her throat, her legs ached and the wind blew against her with such force that if she stopped it would almost certainly blow her off her feet. She was exhausted, wanting desperately to stop and catch her breath but she couldn't. She simply wasn't able to. _

_Everything was a blur, a dull grey blur and she had no clue where she was. She was just running to an unknown destination. If she had a destination that is. _

_Suddenly a booming voice sounded. It filled her mind. Reaching into every corner until there was nothing else but this voice. _

"_Tris," it said. "Tris, are you in there?" _

_Tris felt herself speeding up. The wind struck her, slammed into her so hard she let out a gasp. _

"_Tris." The voice was comforting. Almost like a soft caress. A smile stretched across her lips. _

_She sprinted, relishing the feeling of her feet prancing off the floor and her heart beating at impossible rhythms. She let out a manic laugh. _

_Suddenly, as Tris was running like her life depended on it the solid earth slipped from under her feet. _

_She was too shocked to scream. _

_She watched as the earth crumbled around her and she stood, suspeneded in mid-air for a moment. Then she fell. _

_An awful feeling dropped like a rock in her stomach and this time she screamed a scream that put your teeth on edge. A scream that made your heart snap._

"_Tris!" _

A scream was the first thing she comprehended as Tris slipped from maddening oblivion to this sickening reality. It was such a horrible noise that Tris was about to cover her ears in hope to block out the terrible sound, when she realised it was her own scream.

All her senses kicked in and all she felt was blinding pain in her head.

She opened her eyes. Everything slowly came into focus.

She was in her room lying on her bed. She almost jumped when she saw Four right above her looking extremely worried. He was gripping her shoulders tightly.

"Tris?" he said. "Are you awake?"

He shook her shoulders lightly.

She wanted to reply but she couldn't seem to open her mouth so she nodded her head slightly.

Seering pain shot through her neck, spreading through her weak body. She let out a groan.

"Jesus Christ," he mumbled, retracting his arms and looking around desperately for something that could help her. "Okay, listen don't move."

"I don't think I can," she managed to say.

The corner of Four's lip stretched upwards in a quirky smile and he left the room.

Tris stared at the ceiling and all the memories came flooding back giving her a blinding headache.

The papers, the man and the mark.

"Holy shit!" Tris exclaimed throwing her legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the agonizing pain.

The mark of the strange eye glowed in her mind.

_This is impossible. This stuff only happens in movies. _

Slowly, Tris got to her feet. Her head felt too heavy for her body and she tried to blink the black dots from her vision.

She walked cautiously to the door.

She didn't know what she was trying to accomplish by walking out of her room. Maybe if she shut the door she could shut out all the memories. All these strange events.

Tris shut the door.

No hope. It was still real.

Tris leaned against the wooden frame and gazed at the spot where the man had laid.

She felt wetness on her cheek. She touched the spot and realised she was crying soft sobs, but she bit them back. She had to be strong. No more tears.

She felt numb. She felt like she was just half a person. There was this huge part of her life unfolding right before her eyes whether she liked it or not.

"Tris? What are you doing?"

She looked up to see Four striding up to her with an ice packet in his hands.

She was looking at him but it was like she was looking straight through him. Her gaze wasn't true, she was stuck in her head praying that this was all a mistake. She felt like she was trapped in a nightmare. It felt fake.

She snapped into reality as she felt a sharp coldness on the back of her head, dulling the pain.

She looked up to see Four infront of her, she was leaning against the door so there was no way he could get behind her. His arms encircled her, almost like a hug but the intention was different.

Throwing all her dignity out the window she let her forehead fall onto his chest and her hands grip the front of his shirt.

This felt real.

Four watched the steam billow up from the mug and the teabag paint the water with a soft brown hue. He smelled the comforting aroma of the tea and relished the sound of the grains of sugar falling into the boiling water.

"You never seemed like a tea kind of guy," Tris mused as she sipped her mug of coffee.

Four shrugged.

"Well I thought of you more of a hot chocolate sort of girl," he teased as he tried to cool the drink.

She chuckled absent-mindedly and wrapped her hands around the mug, snuggling deeper into the couch.

Four marveled at how he felt so comfortable with this girl even though he has only known her for a day. It fwlt like he had known her all his life.

"So are we going to talk about what happened last night?" she said, staring at the ground in a daze.

"Yeah," he said. "We probably should."

Four had been trying to avoid this conversation. Everytime he touched this fragile subject fear would rise inside of him and he would just bury it deeper into his memories.

Four reluctently slumped himself on the couch beside her. Being closer to her was being closer to spilling his secreats.

"You start," he said sipping his tea nonchantlany.

She was silent for a while before she spoke, her voice hoarse.

"When you left last night I was thinking about all the things I hated about my father and I remembered all these strange letters he used to get and that he never let me, or anybody read. But one time I saw him open one and it said that he was going to get promoted or something and it sounded like he was in some sort of cult and then there was this sign, the eye, the one on the man. It sounds stupid now, it probably wasn't true. I just… I don't know."

Four admired her innocence. He forbid to see someone so sweet and pure damaged by this, damaged like he had been.

Four's story was so much more. Tris's was one day, Four was his whole life.

"Em… Tris, I don't think you want to know my side, I mean it's not interesting, it's pretty long and-"

"Tell me," she interrupted.

Four was starting to panic.

_What would she think of me if she knew the truth? Can I trust her? Does she deserve to know? _

"You can trust me." She said as if reading his thoughts.

His vunerability was seeping through the cracks in his wall he had built for himself, the wall he had built so high so nobody could get in. But Tris was destroying this unbreakable wall, whether he liked it or not.

"Okay, my father was with this group. The group your father was in, obviously."

Tris's eyes widened.

"I don't know what it is or what they do, but it's not good." He continued.

He didn't know how to excplain everything. So he didn't. He just rolled up his sleeve, all the way to the mark.

"Oh my god, what is that?" Tris breathed, reaching over to touch it. "It's the eye!"

Her fingertips brushed over the spot on his arm leaving goosebumps.

Four flushed but Tris didn't seem to notice.

"Do you mind if I just…" Four leaned forward and took Tris's arm, rolling up her sleeve carefully, enjoying being this close to her.

Tris yelped as he revealed the mark. The small, almost miniscule mark. The ominous eye. The mark of the Erudite.

"Why is this on our arms?" She asked, her lip quivered but she refused to cry. For once she looked strong, like nothing could bring her down now.

"Who knows." He said with a shrug. But he did know.

He knew more than he should and it scarred him. It had scarred him emotionally and physically.

"Let's just forget this happened, put it in the past, hm?" he said.

They both knew that this couldn't be put in the past, but they could try and fail.

"Yeah, it was probably just some misunderstanding." She lied.

Then there was silence. They just sat there, staring infront of them.

Four wanted to forget. To drown his thoughts. He had honestly thought he had put the past behind him, but it had caught up. This thing was too big to hide away forever. It was a part of him now.

Four looked down at his watch.

It was twelve o'clock.

_Why does time always fly when I'm with this girl. _

He was about to turn around and tell her that he had to leave but as he turned her eyelids just fluttered shut.

"Tris?" he whispered.

"Yeah?" she mumbled. She was already half asleep.

"I think I have to go now."

There was no answer but Tris slowly slid from her sitting position and lay her head onto his lap.

He was too shocked to move.

"Night," she said, barely a whisper.

Four smiled and brought his hand to his hair, taking the golden wisps from her face. He touched her cheek, gently caressing it.

"Goodnight Tris."

**Hi!**

**I just wanted to say thank you for all your sweet reviews, they really encourage me to keep on writing. You all are so nice. **

**Ok, I know this story seems super confusing at the moment but it will all make sense soon… **

**Who wants more Uriah? ;) **

**Please tell me what you think of this chapter. **

**xxxx**


	7. Chapter 7

Tris was on the verge of waking. The dark oblivion of her slumber was fading and the sunlight was slowly seeping in through her eyelids. Tris savoured the moment of the unknown. She couldn't decipher what was reality and what was her dreams. The dull haze was clearing from her mind and while her eyes were still shut and she was still splayed across her couch, she had returned.

All the past events flooded into her mind. There was suddenly a sickening feeling churning in the pits of her stomach. She just wanted to curl up in her duvet and stay there forever. This was too much for Tris. Far too much. She couldn't help feeling that this was going to change her, change everything she knew.

Emerging from her lair, she poked her head from her blankets and studied her surroundings.

_Why am I am the couch?_

She racked her brains, trying to recall how she ended up here instead of in her bed.

Her eyes skimmed over her coffee table, right infront of her couch. She spotted a sheet of notepaper left on the surface with a glass of water placed at it's side.

With curiosity she reached forward and grabbed the paper and sunk back into her pillow.

_Morning!_

_Just saying that I went home after you fell asleep, I left some water. You shouldn't worry about what happened yesterday. I can sort it out. It's no big deal. _

_Don't bother coming to class, take a day off. _

_Talk soon,_

_Four. _

A small smile spread across Tris's lips and an infectious warmth spread from her chest to the tips of her being. For a moment she believed Four, trusted that he could take care of these curious happenings. For a moment she just felt like Four could give her all the security she needed, all the happiness she could possibly want and for once her future didn't seem as dull as she made it out to be. With this note, a seemingly meaningless note at that, gave her a sort of hope that her life could be different. And gave her a feeling that she was needed and maybe could be loved.

_Ring! Ring!_

Tris blinked. Stunned for a second before grabbing her phone and bringing it to her ear.

"Hello?" Tris greeted, bringing her blankets up to her chin.

"Hi, is this Beatrice Prior?" a voice said, a strong female voice. It was almost robotic but it had a soothing essence making you want to obey.

"Yes, who's this?" she inquired through a yawn, assuming it was someone on a survey.

"There is no need names, Ms. Prior." The voice turned harsh and icy cold.

Tris's eyes widened and her hand tightened around her phone.

"Oh, okay. Can I help you something?"

"I have contacted you about your father, Andrew Prior, I know what you know. You can't hide-"

She hung up. She knew she would regret it. With shaking hands she threw her phone across the room.

Questions swam threw her mind, fear fogged up her all her senses but she pushed through all the uncertainty and the terrifying sense of being lost and gritted her teeth, picked up her phone from the far side of the room and typed a message to the woman.

**Don't try contact me again. You can't scare me, don't waste your time. **

She pressed send and waited for the bleep of confirmation that it had sent. The sound came and Tris lifted her head and for once she felt independent. For once she didn't feel afraid.

_Bleep!_

Her eyes flicked down. Expressionless, she opened the message from the unknown number.

**There is a chance **_**I**_** can't scare you, Ms. Prior. But **_**we **_**can make your senses go numb, we can make you fear for your life and we can certainly make you co-operate. I'll be in contact. Have a nice day. xoxo**

Four twisted the door-knob to his apartment, expecting to open it with a flourish. But it was locked. It was never locked.

With an irritated sigh he thumped the door.

"The one day I didn't bring my key," he muttered under his breath.

Nobody answered.

He thumped again.

"Uriah?!" he shouted through the key hole.

There was shuffling about and then sure footsteps.

"Who is it?" Uriah called from inside.

Four made a noise. He wasn't in the mood for this.

"Mary Poppins," he exclaimed. "Jesus Christ, Uriah. Who do you think it is?"

"Woah, calm yo' shizzle." Uriah muttered. "It's Four right?"

Four pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed out slowly.

"Yes, Uriah. It's Four. Can you let me in now?" he said, the sarcasm oozing from his deep voice.

"Okay, just give me a second."

"You've got to be kidding me," he breathed.

"You'll thank me later, it's not a pretty sight in here." Uriah said through the door.

"I've seen worse, Uriah. Remember when you pissed on the floor because we watched Paranormal Activity?"

He heard girlish giggling from inside.

"You piddled on the floor? Oh my god!" The girl said, clearly amused.

"Four!" Uriah scowled.

Four grinned. This was his golden moment. Revenge for all the times he had embarrassed him infront of girls.

"Oh yeah, that wasn't the worst time. One time he wanted to check himself out in the mirror in the bathroom and he couldn't see his bottom half so he stood on the toilet seat and fell through. He couldn't get out."

The girl laughed loudly this time.

"Would you shut up." Uriah hissed.

"And there's more, if only Uriah would open the door." He said. He had gotten his ticket inside.

He heard stomping, the rattle of the locks and finally the door flung open and a very annoyed Uriah stood in the doorway.

"Oh, hey Uriah!" Four grinned cheekily.

He poked his head around Uriah and saw a girl in a chair chuckling lightly.

She had long, wavy, dark brown hair that fell to her waist and impish features. She was long-legged and was very tall. Pretty, definetely pretty. This girl was a catch. But Four didn't know why he wasn't attracted to her. She was every guys dream girl, but all he could think about when he looked at her or any girl for a matter of fact, was Tris. It was always Tris.

Four lifted his hand up in a friendly wave.

"Hi, I'm Four." He said cheerfully, hiding his shock of what he had just admitted to himself. Tris's blue eyes burned in his mind and suddenly he could almost feel her lips on his jaw. He resisted lifting his hand to touch the place.

"I'm Marlene," she smiled.

Four glanced at Uriah, who looked incredibly impatient. Four grinned knowingly at him.

"Oh! Marlene, I've heard a lot about you-"

Uriah gave him a deathly look.

"Go have a shower, Four. You smell like wet dog."

"Shoo!" he said jokingly but there was a cold look in his eyes. He gave Four a nudge.

Marlene chuckled in the background.

Four knew he was going to pay for that later.

He walked out of the main room, throwing his kit bag in the corner.

"Nice to meet you, Marlene." He called over his shoulder.

"You too," she replied.

As he left the room he heard Uriah speak.

"He is a sad excuse for a human being. He just made those things up because he's insanely jealous of me. He has some kind of obsession with me. He even watches me sleep." He could hear amusement in his voice.

"Oh, yeah. Of course. I know someone like that. He always watches me sleep, forgotten his name, it was something like Urdiah or Urpiah… couldn't be sure." She replied.

"Oh come on! That was just one time!" he said sarcastically before Four heard sloppy kissing noises.

Four surpressed a groan and shut the door of the bathroom behind him. He let the shower drain out the sounds of the passionate kisses.

"Just call her, we've been through this." Uriah mumbled through a mouthful of pizza.

"I don't want to be too forward." Four complained.

"It's not like you're asking her out on a minibreak. It will be a room packed with people and alchohal. There is nothing intimate about it."

"Fine," he picked up his phone and pressed the call button before he could turn back.

"Besides it would be embarresing if you came alone." He said flicking through the channels on the remote.

"It's ringing," Four whispered.

"Really! Oh my god, Four. What do we do?"

He didn't bother answering him, he just made an irritated noise.

"Hello?" Tris said cautiously. She sounded almost afraid.

"Hi, Tris. It's Four." He replied chirpily.

"Oh, how are you?" she said, her mood changing.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you feeling better?"

"Much better. Did I miss anything in class?" she sounded distant. Like there was a million things on her mind. Four couldn't blame her. These past two days must have been tough.

"No, same old. Well, I wouldn't really know I was like fifteen minutes late."

"You never learn." She said with a hint of laughter.

He grinned.

"So, there's this party my friend is throwing tonight. It's on the rooftop of that apartment block off campus. Do you want to come?"

"I'd love to. What time?"

Four felt a weight rise off his chest.

"Ten thirty, do you know the place?"

"On Johnson Street?" she asked.

"That's the one. I can pick you up if you want."

"Don't bother, it's a two minute walk from my place."

"Alright, well I'll see you then."

"I'll see you then." Her voice grew softer, it became like a sweet caress and it made Four's stomach do impossible flips and turns.

Four felt something. As if someone had splashed cold water on his face. A sudden realisation of something he was missing. He had never noticed it before but it now felt like a gaping hole in himself. He suddenly felt incomplete. He suddenly felt he needed something, he needed her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go.

Then reality hit him, hit him hard. He didn't know how he had let it happen. He let himself fall for her and now he was afraid he had fallen so deep he would never get out, that he would be trapped. And he felt fear like no other. He couldn't be trapped. Not again.

"Bye," she said.

He couldn't open his mouth and there was no time to reply before she hung up.

Four dropped his phone and lept from his chair, rushing to his room. He shut the door behind him but he knew walls and doors couldn't block it out. Not anything. He had learnt that the hard way.

Four felt like he had shrunk. Shrunk back to when he was just five and fear was all he knew. He had learnt that fear was a sin. Being afraid was being weak.

Four slid to the floor wrapped his arms around his knees.

Suddenly it was like he was back in his old room. Back in his prison. He felt the cruel wrath of the whip lash down on him like small daggers. The pain was always unbearable. He could never hide. He could never call for help because he had to learn. He had to learn to be fearless.

"This is for your own good." Four murmered, staring infront of him in a torturous trance.

Then he let a single salty tear fall from his eyes. The first tear that had fallen without the consequences. Without the heartache. Without the scars.

**Hey there! I'm so happy, 62 reviews :D You guys are so great. **

**Sorry for the long wait, I've been kinda busy at the moment but it's mid-term where I live so hopefully I'll have some time for some new updates. ****because i've got no social life**

**Please tell me what you guys think of this one and feel free to PM me your suggestions. **

**What do you think of Urlene? Yay or nay.. ;) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Helloooo, this is like a double chapter because I had to fit in a lot. **

**Sorry for the long wait. **

* * *

Tris stood infront of the mirror. She let herself stare.

Her hair dropped to her shoulders in a lushious, blond sheet. Her eyes popped with the thin layer of eyeliner, her blue orbs were electrifying. It drew away the attention from her nose, somehow it suddenly fit perfectly with her features, blending in with her poreless skin.

Her eyes skimmed down her body.

Her black, skater dress hugged her small curves and showed off just the right amount. She didn't feel exposed, she felt confident. Her black heels added extra height and for once she looked her age.

She looked good, and she let herself admit it.

_Maybe I won't blend into the crowd this time, _she thought as she grabbed her bag.

Her heart leapt in her chest as her gaze fell onto her phone. She couldn't shake the thought of that message. She tried to tell herself it was some kind of sick joke but she knew. She knew this was going to be big. Catastrophic. She considered ringing Mother but she couldn't bare to even think about her, or Caleb. She needed someone to talk to, and that was Four.

Tris stole another look at her reflection before striding out of her apartment.

A cold gust of wind hit her, sending shivers down her spine. She suddenly regretted not taking her jacket.

Tris marveled at how so much could change in a matter of hours. The once light, bouncy atmosphere of this street had switched to the sinister buzz of nightlife. The eery glow of the street lights set a faint shadow to everything and everyone. The cars zoom past in a colorless blur leaving behind the grating sound of the engines, the laughs and shouts of drunken men and women fill the streets and the darkness covers us with its blanket of security. Not safe, you are never safe but you are hidden. Your secrets are kept, your misfortunes forgotten and you can let go of your demons, just for a while.

The building comes into sight. A group of people, about six of them, walk towards the entrance. As Tris came closer one of the girls swiveled her head around and her eyes landed on Tris.

The girl had frizzy black hair, dark skin and what she could make out, deep hazel eyes. She was pretty.

Suddenly, something clicks in Tris's mind.

_Wait a second, I know her._

"Oh my god! Tris!" the girl shrieks as she plummets forward with outstretched arms.

Christina. The girl had been Tris's friend for so long. They had been inseparable. When Christina moved to the other side of the country, gradually over the course of three years they grew apart. The odd text or phone-call was rare but as Christina threw herself into Tris's arms the years disintegrated, the distance that had grown between them vanished.

"It's been so long!" Christina exclaimed as she stepped back and looked at Tris with fondness.

The two girls grinned at each other and burst into laughter.

"What are you doing here?" Tris asked, giving her a playful nudge.

"I can't believe I didn't tell you," she replied, "I got into university here, I had to skip the first couple weeks because…" her smile falters for a moment and her eyes drop to the ground. "well, Granny passed away and she was over in India and well…"

Tris grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze.

"I'm so sorry, she was wonderful." she says reassuringly.

Christina regains her composure and a smile stretches across her face again. She glances over her shoulder, the group had all gone inside except one. Christina beckons over the boy.

"This is Will, my boyfriend." she said gesturing to the handsome blond boy next to her. "And this is Tris."

The two of them smiled pleasantly and greet each other, Tris eyed Christina and gave her subtle wink.

In the corner of her eye, a figure was walking towards them.

Four.

Her heart did a little jump as he walked over.

_Wow_, she thought as she took him in with a glance. His hair was ruffled, his eyes bright, his jumper clinging to his chest.

She really hoped she wasn't blushing.

There was an expression on Four's face that she couldn't decipher. A faint smile was teasing his lips. His eyes bore into hers and Tris shivered unvoluntarily.

She cleared her throat.

"Hi," she said. "This is Will and Christina."

"Hey," he said, lifting his hand up in a brief wave.

"And this is Four." I said.

If they were shocked by his strange name they didn't show it.

"And Four is your…" Christina prompted with a cheeky grin.

"Friend. We're friends." I say quickly. Too quickly. I can feel the warmth rush to my cheeks. I don't dare to look up at him.

"Will we go inside?" Will asks.

* * *

Music pounds around them and the smell of sweat and alcohal fill their senses. Four sits by the bar. Conversations bloom around him, he doesn't mind because he is entranced. He can't take his eyes off her. He never associated her with being pretty, she wasn't anything like that but tonight she was gorgeous. So incredibly beautiful. He knows he will never see her in the same way again.

He watches her on the dance floor. Her hair swings as she moves. He can't hear her laugh but he is mesmerized as he watches her mouth open revealing her slightly crooked teeth. He suppresses a smile. His heart feels like it's going to burst out of his chest. She is just so beautiful.

He doesn't realise she's looking at him until she waves her hand, beckoning him forward.

He had vowed not to let her see him dance.

He shakes his head.

Her eyes narrow and she purses her lips. He sees her mouth move as she talks to Christina. Just as he thought he was off the hook, she turns and walks over to him.

Before he can protest she grabs his hand and yanks him to his feet.

"Tris!" he says, raising his voice to get heard over the music. "You don't understand! I can't dance!"

She shrugs and looks at him over her shoulder, smiling as she drags him to the dance floor.

Lights fade in and out and flash impossible colors, surrounding them in a blinding, luminous glow.

"I CAN'T DANCE." He shouts. The music is so much louder.

"JUST JUMP, IT'S NO BIG DEAL!" she replies at an equal volume.

She jumps, putting her hand up in the air. Her dress swings around her thighs and he watches her laugh. He can almost hear it now.

He rolls his eyes.

_To hell with it. I probably won't be able to remember this in the morning anyway. _

He begins to jump, tripping over his feet and losing his balance. But the embarrassment is nothing compared to the joy he's feeling. He can't remember being this happy. A sense of pride washes over him whenever he makes her laugh or smile. He looks ridiculous and he knows it but if it makes her happy he would do it for a lifetime.

He lost count of the songs, but at some point it's enough. They were both done.

Four gestures to the door.

Tris nods and they walk towards the exit with the alcohal rushing through their veins and music ringing in their ears.

The cold night air was welcomed as they stepped outside. The heat was becoming unbearable.

"That was fun." Tris mused, playing with the fabric of her dress between her fingers.

"Yeah, it was." He replied.

They began to walk down the street.

He didn't know where they were going, and he didn't care either. He was with her.

"Sorry about my dancing. I've always been terrible." Four said, smiling.

"I've seen worse. My brother was pretty terrible. He always stepped on the girls toes at the slow dances and one time knocked a poor girl down to the ground, by accident obviously." She was chuckling now. "He got it from Dad."

A laugh dries up in my throat. Her fist clenches and she bites her lip.

"Four…" she begins. "Something happened yesterday."

A street light flickers overhead and we cross the street.

I look at her now, she is staring at her feet.

"What is it?"

I know where this is going. Where my mind is forbidden.

"This women called me and said that she knew what I know about my father and I hung up. I sent her message telling me to go away and that she couldn't scare me but…" she gulps. "She said that she might not scare me but her people could, basically."

Four tightened his mouth to a scowl. He knew what was happening. He had seen it.

_This is bad. Really bad. _

Nerves bubbled up inside of him and he knew he had to protect her. He had to tell her.

He stopped in his tracks and Tris looked up at him. Her eyes wide and innocent.

"We need to talk." He said slowly, he looked around him. "Not here. I know where to go."

She had never done this. Never broken the rules. She had always been a good girl.

"Are you sure they won't see us?" Tris asked as she jumped over a branch.

"I'm positive, I know what I'm doing. Besides, it's not like they have security cameras in a park." He said as a clearing came into view.

They were completely deserted. No one could find them here.

Four slumped down on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk and as if reading her mind says, "The ground is dry."

She smiles and sits opposite him.

The trees surround us, their branches nearly bare. The grass tickles my legs and I lean back on my hands.

A cool breeze rushes past us, ruffling my hair and leaving goosebumps on my arms.

"Here." Four says as he peels off his jumper, leaving his buttoned up shirt. He hands it to me and I can hardly refuse.

The jumper is warm as I pull it over my head and I can't help let out a laugh as it falls over my hands and almost comes down to my knees.

He grins.

"Nice fit." He says, pushing a hand through his unruly hair.

"I know, right." She smirked. "_You_ look cold now." She says as she notices the goosebumps rising on his arms as well.

She doesn't know what came over her. It could have been the alcohol or because of all the comfort he had shown her the past couple of days. Or maybe because she wanted to be near him, to feel him close so she crept over and sat next to him, sharing the warmth of the woolen jumper.

"Better?" she says, surprised at how casual she sounded.

He didn't answer and she was afraid she had gone too far but he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer so they were joined at the hip.

"Better." He says.

A small smile creeps onto her lips.

"What were you going to tell me?" she asks, enjoying the feeling of Four's breath tickling the back of her neck.

"The truth about… well you know." His voice had grown quieter.

Tris stared intensely at the tree in front of her. Her mind was rushing. She felt she might have broken down by now if it wasn't for Four holding her steady.

"There is a group, I don't know it's purpose, as you know. But it's bad." He began. Her hands begin to shake. She tries to stop them but it's futile.

Four places his free hand over one, gripping it tightly.

"When I was younger my father left on a regular basis." he kept on talking like nothing had happened. She couldn't help staring at their hands. She couldn't help letting this feeling take over.

"When I was older, thirteen I think, I went into his study. It was forbidden. I rummaged through his stuff and found loads of things like that letter of your fathers. The letters said things about where they would meet and stuff. They didn't really give away anything, really but I found a letter that was dated to the day before and it said that there was a meeting the next day. So I went. I followed my father to the middle of the woods out behind this place called Abnegation and-"

"Abnegation?" she says, turning to face him, shock evident on her face. "You're from Abnegation?"

Four was silent for a moment.

"Yes."

Suddenly it all made sense. It all made terrible sense.

"Tobias Eaton." She breathed.

She remembered all the headlines in the papers. _"Marcus Eaton beats child" "Tobias Eaton taken refuge in boarding school" "Evil Eaton ." _

Four presses his lips together but doesn't let his gaze falter.

She couldn't even fathom what it would've been like, living like that. Always in fear. She wish she could say something, say everything.

"You are so brave."

That was all that was needed to be said. She didn't need to take his hand or give him a hug. He's strong. He's able. He's past comfort.

Her head was spinning. She felt like this was all a dream.

He turns and leans against the tree again. His arms are by his side and he stares ahead of himself.

They sit apart now.

Tris's chest aches for him but she knows he doesn't want her pity.

His eyes crawl from the floor up to her face.

"Thanks." He murmurs.

"For what?"

"For not looking at me like I'm a lost puppy or something." The corners of his mouth turn up and she automatically does the same.

She leans back against the trunk again.

"Go on." She says, edging closer to his warmth.

"So I went to the woods and watched this ceremony." His voice had gotten considerably quieter. He sounded detached from reality.

"They had a man in the center of a circle. They said some sort of motto or something _Whomever breaks thy brothers bond, will forever hold thy piece_. My father said those words. I could never look at him again. Then they talked about marks. How they would mark people who were effected by them in any way, the Erudites, that's what they called themselves."

Tris didn't notice Four had brought his arm around her again until she felt his fingertips brushing over the spot where that mark is.

"Why would they put a mark on us?" she says, her voice devoid of emotions.

"To use us as a target."

Those words felt like daggers to her ears.

"What do you mean?"

"Your father had done something to betray this group and now they're punishing him until they get what they want. They marked you and all of your family so if this happened they know where to find you."

Four gripped her shoulder.

"So that's why the man came and the woman called me. They're coming for me." Her voice had grown into a squeak. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest. "Are they going to kill me?" she said desperately. "Four, am I going to die?"

Four dropped his arm and turned Tris around so she was facing him. Straight on. Eye to eye.

"I won't let them do _anything _to you, do you understand?" his gaze was so intense that it sent shivers down her spine. "I can talk to my father, I'll get you out of this."

She nods, biting her lip.

He brings his hand up to her jaw and cradles it for a moment.

"I'm scared." She whispers.

Four's eyes flicker down to her lips and he moves in closer and closer until their breath mingles together.

Her mind is racing at a hundred miles an hour. She can't separate one thought from another. Adrenaline rushes through her and she quetsions if she's going to leap into the unknown or step back, away from uncharted waters.

"You're safe with me." He's so close that when he speaks his lips brush off hers lightly.

"I know."

Their lips crash together.

It's like something clicks. Snaps into place.

Tris doesn't know how she lived all her life without this. Without his lips on hers, or his hands in her hair, on her waist, on her neck. This is like nothing she's ever felt before.

They pull away from each other, both flushed and smiling, clinging to each other.

"Were never going to get this business project done, are we?" Four says with a wistful grin.

"Nope."

They kissed again and there was an indescribable feeling churning in the pits of their stomach and creeping into depths of their hearts. This was it. There was no going back now.

* * *

**They kissed! Finally, right? **

**Please tell me what you think! I love getting reviews, they make my day. **

**I always try to update as soon as possible but other stuff **_**always **_**get in the way, unfortunately. I'll do my best to update on the weekend. **

**Thanks for reading. **


	9. Chapter 9

Four hand slipped around her neck as he deepened the kiss.

He still thought this was a dream. This couldn't be happening.

He could feel her smile against his lips and her fingers twist the ends of his hair.

It was too good to be true.

Slowly and gently, Tris pulled away from his lips, a faint smile creeping onto her precious face.

Fours heart was beating too quickly. His eyes roamed her features and she had a look that he couldn't work out.

Her smile slowly fades and she bites her lip, her eyes falling to the ground.

He wanted to say something. Anything to tell her how he felt and how he wanted to be with her. He didn't know how to ask.

"Tris." He says, his voice raspy and quiet. "I…"

Four stops as she turns from him, twisting away from his touch.

His eyebrows furrow.

_Did I do something wrong? _

Her arms wrap around her waist and her head hangs.

_What did I do? _

"Are you okay?" Four says, staring intently at the back of her head.

"This… this was a mistake."

It was like someone punched him in the gut. A weight dropped in his stomach and he was glad she couldn't see the obvious hurt on his face.

He didn't understand how she didn't feel the same way. She had made most of the moves and there was no doubt that she enjoyed the kiss.

"Four, I'm… I'm just so scared." She whimpers.

All the shock drains from him and it is quickly replaced with sorrow. A sorrow that rips through him.

He inches closer and wraps his arms around her waist.

"I'll keep you safe, okay? I won't let anyone hurt you and if… if you just want to be friends that that's fine. Nothing has to happen, I'll just be here for you. Always."

He hears a sniffle.

"I don't want to lose you." She murmurs.

She leans her head back against his chest.

"And you won't."

There was an unsettling feeling rising up within him. He knew he couldn't be just friends. He just simply wouldn't be able too. Nothing about this relationship with Tris indicated just being friends. He liked her and knew in time he could let himself love her.

He knew this was going to hurt but being without Tris would hurt even more.

There was silence as Four's heart ached. Every part of him ached for Tris.

"What are we going to do… about the Erudite?" Tris says, breaking the silence.

Four had thought up of a vague plan but he didn't know the certainty of it. But he could always try even though he would be delving into his deepest nightmares.

"Tomorrow after class, I'm going to go to Abnegation to see my father and talk him out of what they're doing to you and your family." He says, his voice weaker than he hoped it would be.

Tris stiffens and twists her head around.

"Are you kidding?" she exclaims. "No, I can't let you do that."

"I want to." He says firmly.

"No, that's not happening." She says with equal valour.

"Do you have a better plan?"

She stays quiet for a good minute.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you." She says.

"Tris-" he begins.

"No. I'm coming."

* * *

_Why? _Tris thought as she stared into his fascinating, blue eyes. _Why did I let myself fall this far? _

She kept reminding herself that this was the right decision. She didn't need something else to worry about, especially with this whole 'people trying to kill her' problem.

But whenever she looks at him and see's him looking at her the way he does, her heart melts. And whenever she remembers his lips on hers her stomach does crazy flips and turns.

But they are just friends now. And it nearly Tris as much as it hurts Four.

Four stands in her doorway, leaning nonchalantly on the frame.

"You can come in." Tris says, clenching her hands in fists so they won't shake.

She's scared. Absolutely petrified.

Four nods and strides in.

Images flash through Tris's mind.

The mark. The letter. The text. Her father. Her family. Marcus. And the fear of what was to come.

She presses her shaking hands to her forehead and breathes deeply through her nose.

She has never felt terror like this before. She knew what they were capable of and she knew they would stop at nothing to get her. But why? She didn't understand. The thick fog of confusion flooded her mind and she was lost.

She can feel Four tug her hands off her forehead.

She had almost forgotten he was there.

She looks up.

"Hey." He says softly with a faint smile.

"Hi." She gulps.

He reaches forward and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, tickling her cheek. But he flinches away, a blush creeping on his cheeks.

Tris feels her throat closing up.

She doesn't want this. She doesn't want to have a semi relationship with Four. It would be too much. She certainly didn't want the burden of feelings like that, even if they couldn't be suppressed.

But she wanted comfort. No, she needed it. She needed someone to hold her and tell everything was going to be okay when it wasn't. And Four was that. Her anchor. Even if they could have been something more then friends. Even if there will always be something more.

Another round of visions fill every corner of her mind.

She sees a man with the tattoo creeping into her room and taking her and-

She doesn't let this nightmare go any further.

"Could you stay tonight?" Tris blurts out.

Four's eyes widen slightly and she realises what she's asking.

"I mean, I'm just really scared and I don't think I could be alone, you know?"

She bites her lip wondering if she had gone too far.

"Of course." He replies, walking further into the room. "I understand."

"Are you sure, I mean I-"

"No, I want to make sure you're okay." He smiles.

A warm feeling spreads through her chest. She feels safe, he will keep her safe.

She smiles back.

"Thanks." She breaths.

Her mouth opens wide in a yawn.

Four twitches his head toward the bedroom.

"You should go to bed."

Suddenly, sleep seems like a good idea. Her knees begin to grow weak and her mind fuzzes as she walks to the room.

Shutting the door, she pulls her dress over her head.

The thought of rummaging for new pyjamas drains her so she grabs Four's jumper and throws it over herself.

It almost reaches her knees so she decides it's acceptable.

Her heart flutters slightly as she opens the door, peeking her head outside.

"Do you want to come in?"

Tris didn't realise how awkward this would be.

He shrugs and walks forward, casually coming into the room.

Tris doesn't let the silence wear on before crawling into her bed.

"I'm so tired." She yawns again.

Her head hits the pillow and she looks at Four through half closed eyelids.

He slips off his shoes and creeps in beside her.

They lay their heads beside each other, breaths mingling and hearts pounding.

_Just friends. _Tris reminds herself.

"Night." She whispers.

"Night." He replies, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

She lets a small smile show on her face as she turns off the light.

Tris turns on her side.

She can hear Four's breath, feel his warmth and all she wants is too be closer.

Slowly, she moves back.

His arms automatically wrap around her and a pleasant sensation rushing through her.

This is all she wants. This is all she could possibly need.


	10. Chapter 10

A woman sits at her desk, tapping her long nails against the table in a monotonous rhythm. She stares at her computor screen. A picture stares back at her.

The picture is of a family. A happy one. A man, a woman and a girl and boy. A typical family.

The woman bites her cracked lip.

_What to do,_ she thinks to herself.

This family was doomed to be broken. Shattered. It was inevitable.

But she wondered how. How could she make them shudder and scream? How could she make them beg for mercy?

She pressed her lips in a fine line, her mind buzzing.

She knew exactly how.

She enlarged the photo, zooming in closer and closer until he could only see the mans face. The face she had known so well and had once made her heart flutter.

She clenched her jaw to the point of pain and clicked out of the photo. Now staring at a blank screen.

Her icy blue eyes begin to water up. A single tear rolls down her face. This tear consumes her thoughts and for once her mind stops racing and there is an unfamiliar emptiness in her heart.

She knows it has to be done. Now, before she lets her cold, meaningless heart feel something.

There was no hope for him now, the woman had made up her mind.

She would make him rue the day he had chosen. The day he had made the right decision. But he had played the game and lost.

He had chosen the side of the angels.

* * *

The curtains swayed gently as a soft breeze crept in from the unclosed window. The morning light shone through, directly into Four eyes.

It was the first thing he noticed as the dull haze of his dreamless sleep slowly faded away.

Then he felt something stir in his arms.

Tris.

A wave of emotions washed over him. He couldn't decipher one from the other.

He felt bitter.

Tris turned around, letting out a soft groan. She was now closer. Four felt like he was drowning.

He couldn't be just friends. It would kill him.

Tris nestled her head in the crook of his neck and her hands were splayed across his chest.

He should feel happy. She was here. She chose his company, but he simply didn't. If this was in different circumstances then yes, he would feel joy like no other.

_Just friends. _

The sentence burned in his mind.

Tris's hair spread out across her pillow in a golden halo and the grey light brushed her face, making it glow. She looked alien. But she looked painfully beautiful in Four's eyes.

His throat felt raw.

Her eyelids quivered and Four braced himself for what was to come.

Her eyes opened and they focused straight ahead of her and slowly crept up to Four's face.

"Morning." He said.

"Morning." She replied, her voice raspy.

There was nothing else to be said, so they laid there, gripping tightly to each other, knowing that they were slowly crumbling.

He didn't know how much of this he could take.

"Tris."

She looked up at him.

"I don't know if I can do this." He says, clenching his fists.

He didn't know when he decided to say that but there was no going back now.

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean?" she whispers.

"You know what I mean."

The hurt was evident in his voice.

Tris pressed her lips together.

"I… I can't do this!" she exclaims, pushing herself away from Four.

He immediately misses the warmth but he pushes that aside.

She sits up and throws her legs over the side of the bed.

"Why?" he says gently, sitting beside. Not too close.

She sighs and puts her head in her hands.

"I just don't want to get hurt, okay?" she murmurs.

"I won't hurt you." He assures, trying to fill the sentence with as much meaning as he could.

"Yeah, well you say that now," she says, looking up at him with stormy eyes. "and then I will get boring and annoying and you see someone else that is everything that I'm not."

Each word feels like a dagger in his side.

"Tris," his voice cracks a little. "You have no idea do you?"

He shakes his head and clasps his hands together.

"I like you, Tris. I like _everything _about you and that's never happened before. I always pick out peoples flaws but you… there's nothing with you, Tris."

He stares at the floor. He can feel her eyes burning into him.

"I couldn't be just friends. I just… couldn't." he mutters.

He lets out a sigh and runs his hands through his hair.

There is silence for a long time.

Then, "What do we do?" Tris croaks.

He can't conjure up an answer.

"What if we let ourselves be together and it doesn't work?" Tris asks.

"We can't just throw this away." He mutters.

"I feel safe with you and I don't want to lose that." She whispers.

"Listen, I'll go to Abnegation and I'll sort you out-"

"Sort me out?" Tris says with a look of disgust on her face. It contorts her features. "You think I _need _you to tuck me in to bed and fight of my problems? You know what, I'll go myself. I don't need you to keep me safe, at all. If you can't wait for me to be ready then off you go."

Four felt all the breath leave his lungs. His mind blurs for a moment.

"Tris, let me come." He manages to say. "I want to help."

"I need you to leave." She says calmly.

Four's mind screams at him to say something, anything to make it better. Anything to change her mind. He would wait.

Then she looks down on herself.

"Oh, and here's your jumper." She spits.

She peels of the jumper, leaving her in her vest and underwear.

He tries not to stare.

He can't think like that anymore. Everything they had is gone.

He sees her cheeks flare up and she throws the jumper into his hands.

"Bye, Four."

* * *

Tris had been staring at the back of Four's head for the entire lesson. She marveled at the waves in his thick, dark hair.

She felt hollow. Incomplete. Stupid.

Of course she would want them to be together. She just felt the timing was wrong. And she had over-reacted.

She thought she didn't need anyone. She always prefered to be alone but now she needed someone more then ever. But not someone. Four.

_When did I get so complicated?_

Her phone buzzed against her thigh.

Making sure her professor couldn't see her, she slipped it out of her pocket and read the message.

It was from Caleb.

**Meet me outside of your university. We hav to leave. **

**Caleb. **

Tris felt her pulse everywhere.

She stared at the spelling mistake. _We hav to leave. _Caleb never made spelling mistakes. Something is wrong.

She grabbed her things and stuffed them into her bag and without a second thought, leapt out of her seat.

"Oi! Beatrice! Sit down!" the professor shouted.

She ignored all the eyes staring at her as she stumbled down the steps.

Her eyes locked with Four's.

"What are you doing?" he calls out to her.

"I need to leave." she gasps and she rushes out the building.

Her legs burn as she runs down the hallways, pushing past people until she gets to the exit.

She lets out a sigh of relief when she sees Caleb sitting in his car, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

When she jumps into the car the familiar smell of his aftershave fills her senses.

She doesn't hesitate before throwing herself into his arms.

She doesn't care that the gearstick is jabbing her side, she doesn't care that her tears are wetting his jumper.

"I missed you so much." She whimpers.

"Me too, but we need to leave. We'll talk on the way."

He starts the car and drive away from the university.

"Where are we going?" Tris asks.

"Abnegation." Caleb states.

Tris furrows her eyebrows.

"Why?"

"You the situation we're in, Tris. People want us dead. We need to talk to people and tell Mother what's happening, if she isn't dead already."

Tris gasps.

"Caleb!" she exclaims. "What do you mean? Do you think she's… dead." she chokes on the last word.

He shrugs, looking nonchalant.

"How are you so calm!" Tris nearly screams.

"It's best to try not to care. You don't want to get hurt, especially when there is a strong chance that someone you care about will die soon. Trust me, Tris."

He says her name cooly and Tris couldn't help wondering if he had stopped caring about her too.

"Don't worry. This is why we're going back home. We'll sort things out." He says, placing his hand over hers.

After that, there is silence.

Tris grips the side of the seat so hard that her knuckles turn white.

As the town of Abnegation peeks into sight Tris turns to Caleb.

"Why now?" she asks.

Caleb presses his lips together.

"Because it's time."

"What do you mean?"

He doesn't reply.

They finally reach their destination.

"What are we going to do now?" Tris asks as they pull into the side of a street.

She flings off her seat belt and leaps out of the car.

"We're going to see Marcus Eaton."

Tris tries to put on a brave face.

"Oh… alright." She says, as calmly as she could.

Caleb walks over to her and takes her hand. He looks at her with his dull green eyes.

"Tris, we must think of our family but we must also think of ourselves."

"What?"

He kisses the top of her forehead and walks ahead of her.

Tris shakes off all confusion and strides ahead. Holding her head high. She wonders what it would be like, seeing that horrible man. She doesn't know how she would even be able to stay in his presence knowing what he did to Four.

"How do you know where the house is?" Tris asks as they turn into a huge grey house, exact replicas of every other house in the town.

"I did some research."

_Of course he did research, he's Caleb._

"Okay we're here." Caleb says.

He always stated the obvious when he was nervous.

They stand in front of a blue door. It looms over them, seeming more daunting then it actually is.

Tris rings the doorbell, taking a deep breath.

She hears footsteps and the rattle of locks.

Then the door swings open, revealing the man. The creature.

Tris tries not to run.

A revolting grin stretches across his slimy face.

"Hello, Beatrice." He snarls.

He nods toward Caleb.

"Well done, my boy. You shall be rewarded for your sacrifice."

The confusion rushes back.

"What is-" she begins.

Caleb looks at her with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry, Tris."

Then, Tris feels something thump the back of her head and blinding pain filling every corner of her mind.

There is a laugh.

Then there's nothing.

* * *

**Hello!**

**Cliffhangers are always the worst, sorry guys. **

**I'm going to check all the mistakes I've made in the previous chapters (I know there is a lot.)**

**I really need a BETA… I might try find one but that involves effort so no thanks. **

**Anyway, I just wanted to say that you guys are really great. Thanks for sticking with me. **

**Also, reviews help me write faster ;) **


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